Pile fabric and method of making same



June 3, 1952 Filed Jan. 23, 1951 B. K. SYMONDS PILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR. BERNARD K. SYMONDS ATTORNEY June 3, 1952 B. K. SYMONDS 2,599,293

FILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Jan. 23, 19 51 Fig.3

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. BERNARD K. SYMONDS W flv-uAMR ATTORNEY June 3, 1952 B. K. SYMONDS 2,599,293

FILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Jan. 25, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.8 88

9 QABC 9800 99 w INVENTOR. BERNARD K. SYMONDS ATTORNEY J1me 1952 B. K. SYMONDS 2,599,293

' PILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed Jan. 23, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.

O\ lld lle Hf Fig. I3 I??? w I INVENTOR. BERNARD K. SYMONDS W/a-M ATTORNEY Patented June 3, 1952 PILE FABRIC AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Bernard K. Symonds, Providence, R. I., assignor to Providence Pile Fabric Com, Pawtucket, R. 1., a corporation of Rhode Island Application January 23, 1951, Serial No. 207,269

7 Claims.

This invention relates to pile fabrics and to a method of making same.

A long standing problem of the loop pile fabric industry has been to devise a satisfactory method by which so-called tabby weave type or ,boucle weave type pile fabrics may be woven on a single shed loom. Up tothe present time because vof economy and other factors the use of single shed looms has been restricted in the weaving of pile 100p fabrics to a special fabric known as a rib frieze. A rib frieze is a pile fabric in which the woven loops are positioned in straight lines across the cloth, thus forming the so-called rib. All loops which lie in the same rib extend above the same pick or picks of fillfirst pick or weft, is raised above the base cloth over a second pick or weft, and is embedded in the cloth in front of the third pick or weft. All said picks referred to are picks which are woven into the backing cloth.

A boucle type pile fabric, or, as it is sometimes termed, a tabby weave pile fabric, is a pile fabric in which loops may be woven over every pick or weft in the backing cloth. According to my invention a pile fabric is made having loops woven over every pick or weft of the backing cloth, two picks of cloth being made in a total of three picks of a single shed loom.

According to my invention, I provide a novel method of producing so-called boucle type or tabby type pile fabrics made up of one pick loops which are asymmetric, that is, the legs of which differ in length, and multi-pick loops which may optionally be symmetric or asymmetric, on a single shed loom, three picks of. the shuttle being required to weave two picks of cloth. I also produce a stronger fabric, similar in appearance to tabby or boucle pile fabric woven by the traditional method. In the fabric produced by mymethod the loops add to the support of each other without adversely affecting the soft handle of ordinary cloth of this type. The difference between one asymmetric 100p and onesymmetric loop (all. controlling factors such as height of wire, pickage per inch, density of sley, etc., being the same), may be small; but the sum of the According to my method loops extending over different picks of the cloth are simultaneously woven over one loop-making weft or top filling thread. By top filling thread I refer to a shot of filling or weft thread which lies over'a wire or other suitable support, and which may or may not be removed after the loop is formed. The term wire as used herein is intended to include'any suitable supporting means over which the pile loops are woven and supported By my invention I provide a method whereby through the use of only three picks of a single shuttle loom I can make two 'picks'of backing cloth in which any or all of the cloth picksmay have loops woven over them. I l I Further details and advantages of my invene tion will be apparent from the following specification and appended drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of a rib frieze fabric made by the old method showing the wire supporting the loopmaking weft or filling threads,

Figure 1A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the resultant ri-b" frieze fabric shown in Figure 1 after removing the loop-making weft or filling threads,

Figure 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of the so-called tabby or boucle weave,

' made by the old method,

ening. of the fabric.

Figure 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the first shed necessary to effect a so-called boucle or tabby weave of one pick loops in accordance with my invention,

Figure 4 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the second shed necessary to effect a so-called boucle or tabby weave of one pick loops according to my invention,

Figure 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view illustrating the third shed'necessary to effeet a so-called boucle or tabby weave of one pick loops according to my invention,

Figure 6 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of the weave produced in accordance with my invention,

Figure '7 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of the pile fabric illustrated in Figure 6 showing the loop-making filling or weft threads removed,

Figure 8 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of another modified pile fabric made in accordance with my invention,

Figure 9 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of another modified pile fabric made in accordance with my invention,

Figure 10 is an enlarged diagrammatic-sectional 3 view of still another modified pile fabric made in accordance with my invention,

Figure 11 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of a pile fabric having symmetric loops extending over two picks of the backing cloth,

Figure 12- is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of a pile fabric having asymmetric loops extending over two picks of the backing cloth, and

Figure 13 is an enlarged diagrammatic sectional view of a pile fabric having symmetric loops extending over two picks of the backing cloth and woven over two loop-supporting picks.

the three sheds necessary to effect my novel weave, letter W designates the wire and the line SS the plane in which the single shuttle of the loom travels. Numeral 3| indicates a pile end, numeral 32 a second pile end, numeral 34 a backing yarn end, numeral 35 a second backing yarn end, and numerals 36a, 36b and 360 the picks of filling or weft threads. The following table is a chart of the shedding arrangements I use with reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5. The words over and under are here used to designate the position of the wire and the various warp ends in relation to the respective weft ends.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a conventional "rib freeze. The loops are made by throwing picks of top filling theads 2a, 4a, 6a, etc., over a wire W which rests on the backing cloth 28 formed of ground warp threads l and I6 having successive filling or weft threads 1 to 7, etc. As shown in Figure 1, loops ID are woven over filling threads 2, 4, 6, etc., but no loops are woven over filling threads I, 3, 5, 1, etc. The top filling threads 2a, 4a, 6a, etc., are ordinarily removed from the cloth and th resultant fabric appears as shown in Figure 1A. Thus, one of each three filling threads is not woven into the clothbut is removed after hav ing been used to make the loop. To make the socalled rib frieze, by conventional methods on single-shed looms, it is therefore necessary to weave three picks of the loom, and throw three picksof filling. It can also be seen that the type of loop so produced is a symmetrical loop, in which the two legs of the loop are of equal length.

The type of pile fabric known as boucle is one in which loops may be woven over any and all interwoven weft threads as illustrated in Figure 2, wherein alternate loops it are respectively woven over alternate picks 2, 1, 6, etc., and a1- ternate loops I I are respectively woven over picks l, 3, 5, 1, etc., in the backing cloth. This is the so-called tabby or boucle weave in which adjacent pile ends form loops over consecutive weft threads, thus effecting a general over-all coverage if desired, and overcoming the rib-like effect of the so-called rib frieze type. In order to weave a loop over picks I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, etc., as shown in Figure 2, it was necessary, prior to my invention, to throw top picks Ia, 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, 6a, la, etc., above the wire W. Thus, using a one-shed loom, four picks of the loom, and therefore four picks of filling, were required to weave two picks of cloth.

Because of the necessity of weaving four picks in order to obtain two picks of the. so-called boucle or tabby type weave, the single-shed loom was ineffective, in view of the added expense over that of the normal production of this type of fabric on a double-shed loom.

According to my method, only three picks of a single-shed loom, and therefore three picks of filling, are necessary to produce two picks'of socalled boucle, a fabric in which loops may be woven over any or all picks of filling which are woven into the back of the cloth.

Referring to Figures 3, 4 and 5, which illustrate Y By repeatedly following the sequence of sheds Nos. 1, 2 and 3, as given in the table I produce two picks of so-called boucle weave, in three shots of a single shuttle, as illustrated in Figure 6. It is to be understood that the "shuttle is thrown in a single plane indicated by line S-S in Figures 3 to 5. These figures also illustrate the position of the picks in relation to the, wire W. Filling or loop-making threads 360 are then. removed and the resultant cloth appears as, shown in Figure 7. Thus it can be seen that the cloth produced is a so-called boucle,or tabby weave,

for a loop has been woven over every pick of filling in the back of the cloth. It will thus be seen that by my method only three picks'of the loom, and

therefore three picks of filling, are required to produce two picks of so-called boucle or tabby weave.

A further examination of my weave shows that, although the construction of the cloth is that of so-called boucle, the one pick loops in my weave differ from the one pick loops of rib frieze or' traditional so-called boucle in that the legs of each loop differ in length from one another in a manner predetermined by the pickage per inch and the height of the wire. Referring to Figure 6, leg b is longer than leg a in loop F, and leg d is longer than leg 5 in adjacent loop '0 because pick 36c is positioned between picks 36a and 361). Thus these asymmetrical loops are made up of one short and one long leg, as opposed to the traditional symmetrical loop which is made up of legs of equal length. The shorter leg at of each loop extends at an angle to the longer leg at of the adjacent loop. This results in a fortification and strengthening of the loops in my fabric.

The method described above refers to making so-called one-pick loops, according to which any one of the picks of filling, which is thrown above a wire, or thrown above any other material that may be used for the purpose for which the wire is used, a loop-making pick of filling for two consecutive sets of one-pick loops.

Figures 8 to 13 illustrate various modified weaves made in accordance with the novel fea tures of my invention wherein pile loops are woven over any desired number of picks or weft threads of backing cloth, and may be designated as two-pick loops, three-pick loops, etc., depending upon the number of picks over which each loop extends.

For convenience, a loop woven over pick of filling a'in thebacking cIQth-isdesignated as loop A with an appropriate numeral; a loop woven over pick of filling b in the backing cloth is designated as loop 3 with an appropriate numeral; a loop woven over picks of filling a and b is designated as loop AB with anappropriate numeral. As shown in Figure 8, one pile loopmaking filling 8e maybe-the loop-making pick of filling forloops BAB and loops BBC and loops 8CD. The picks in the backing are indicated by numerals 8a, 8b, 815, etc., and the backing warp threads are omitted for the sake of clarity. As

shown in. Figure 9, one pick of filling, 9g, may be the loop-making pick of fillingfor loops 9ABC and loops 'QBCD' and loops BCDE and loops SDEF f and so on,for loops over any desired number of picks 9a, 92),"90, etc., in the back of the cloth.

According to my invention any group of or all of,'the aboveloops mayoccur simultaneously as shown in Figure 10,for example, where one pick of filling 50 may be the loop-making pick of filling for any group of, or all of, the following:

'1. loops E, loops F 2. loops'DE,'loops EF, loops FG 3. loops CDE, loops DEF, loops EFG, loops FGH 4. loops BCDE, loops CDEF, loops DEFG, loops 'EFGI-I, loops FGHI, et cetera.

For reasons of clarity loops of group 4 are omitted from Figure 10 and also all loop-supporting picks are omitted except pick 50 between backingpick'lfle and I0 It is obvious that following the sequence of the shedding arrangement asshown in Figures 3 to 5, thepresence of loopquence of the loop-making picks. For example,

loop HIDEF can be created by being held over loop-making pick 50 only, or over loop-making picks'50 and the loop-making pick between I00 and id, or only over the loop-making pick between lflc and lOd.

It will be further noted that, since in a cloth whose basic loop is a one-pick loop, one out of each'three picks of filling is a loop-making pick of fillingthrown above the wire, loops CDE, loops DEF, loops EFG, loops FGH, loops BCDE, loops CDEF, etc., and, of the two pick loops, loops DE and loops FG, may be positioned optionally over more than one consecutive pick of loop-making filling. For example, the three optional methods of constructing a two-pick loop are shown in Figures 11 to 13. In Figure 11, loop I IBC is symmetric and is supported on filling Hg spaced over a point intermediate to ground picks llb and He. In Figure 12, loop l2CD is asymmetric and is supported by filling l2g positioned over a point between ground picks I21) and I20. In Figure 13 symmetrical loop I3CD is supported on, loop-making picks of filling 13g and l3h. Thus it is shown that a number of multi-pick loops woven by my method may be optionally symmetric or asymmetric. It will also be apparent from the foregoing that all types of multipick loops may be woven over two, three or more picksof the backing cloth as desired. Thus by my method I can make loops of varying lengths and heights atom and the same time without the necessity of changing the height of the wires. It is also tobe understood that the foregoing variations can be utilized with the sequence of sheds as illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5.

According to my invention any one pick of filling which is thrown above a wire (or thrown above any other'material that'may be used for the purpose for which the wire is used) can serve as a loop-making pick of filling for pile ends woven or extending over multiple sets ofpicks of the cloth. Also bymeans of keeping the pile ends above the filling which is woven into the back and under the'filling which is thrown above the wire, floats, or loops of negligible height, of any desired length, can be woven alone, or in conjunction with or together with loops created in the previously described manner.

As I have shown, loops of any desired. length and/or height and/or floats of vany-desired-length may be madeby my method. Inasmuch'asthe weaving of any pile end is independent of the way in which all other pile ends are simultaneously woven, I can by use of my method weave either plain fabrics and/ or fancy fabrics, and themethod is applicable with-all devices which lift any and/or all warp ends from the bottom of the shed'to the top of the shed.

In my method of weaving I canbring various pile ends which create loops, either on the same or different picks of the backing cloth, above the same pick of removable filling. I can create or make any length or height of loops and/or socalled floats and either plain and/or so-called fancy patterns. I may also optionally' remove the pile-supporting wefts or picks from the final woven fabric or retain them in'the final fabric if desired. I

My method increases the productivity of presently known equipment and in this manner decreases the cost of the fabric and thus enables the ultimate consumer of the fabrics to purchase a better fabric at a lower price. Pile fabrics produced by my method are stronger than ordinary pile fabrics because of the fact that the so-called tabby weave or boucle weave loops support each other to greater extent than the loops made in the old manner. Because on singleshed' looms it was necessary prior to my invention to make so-called tabby or boucle loops by using four picks of filling and four picks of'the loom in order to make two picks of'cloth, and because with my method it will be necessary to use only three picks of filling and three picks of the loom to make two picks of the cloth, therefore, it follows that I have increased the productivity of the single shed looms in making the so-called tabby or boucle weave so that four yards can now be made where three were formerly made. Also, according to my method only three picks of filling yarn are used where formerly four picks of filling yarn were used. It therefore follows that the cost of making this so-called tabby or boucle weave by my method will be less than the cost of making so-called boucle weave on singleshed looms of ordinary weaving, not only by the fact that a greater productivity will result on the same loom, but also because lessgilling yarn will be used. This end result will be translated into a lower price of a better piece of goods to the ultimate consuming trade. My method thus In particular, various changes may be made in the weave-iand the draw of thegr'ound warp ends which are not used to make pile,'but are used solely to form the backing cloth. These numerous variations in the weave of the backing cloth may be used together with the method herein described for making of the pile loops without departing fromthe spirit and scope of my invention.

By turning upside down all drawings, and substituting the Word over for the word under and the word under for the word over, in the directions for the shedding arrangements, a fabric, identical to the fabric heretofore described, is produced, which when on the loom has its pile surface beneath the backing cloth. It is thus to be understood that the Words under and over in the appended claims are used to denote relative positions which may be reversed without altering the method herein disclosed or the final fabric structure.

.It will be understood that various changes may be resorted tom the form, construction and arrangement of my fabric weave and in the steps of the method without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to be limited .to the particular embodiments herein shown and described except as they may v be included in the claims.

I claim:

A method of making a loop pile woven fabric which comprises interweaving warp threads and weft threads to form a backing cloth, positioning a loop-supporting weft above said backing and throwing at least two pile warp threads over said loop-supporting weft, each of said pile warp threads looping respectively over successively spaced weft threads in the backing cloth.

2. A method of making a loop pile woven fabric which comprises interweaving Warp threads and weft threads to form a backing cloth, positioning a loop-supporting weft above said backing cloth and throwing at least two pile warp threads over said loop-supporting weft, each of said pile warp threads looping respectively over successively spaced weft threads, and removing said loopsupporting weft.

, 3. In the manufacture of a loop pile woven fabric on a single shed loom provided with warpwise extending wires, the steps which include forming in sequence a first shedding arrangement having a first pile end over a first filling, a second pile end under said first filling, the wire over said first filling, a first backing end over said first filling and a second backing end under said, first filling; forming a second shedding arrangement having the first pile end under a second filling, the second pile end over said second filling, the said wire over said second filling, the first backing end under said second filling,

the second backing end over said second fillin and forming a third shedding arrangement having the first pile end over a third filling, the second pile end over said third filling, said wire under said third filling, the first backing end under said third filling, the second backing end under said third filling and repeating the shedding arrangements in the sequence defined,

4. The method as defined in claim 3 which includes the step of removing the third fillin thread supporting the pile loop formed.

5. The method as defined in claim 3 which includes the step of adjusting the height of the wire to produce loops of predetermined height.

6. A method of weaving a loop'pile fabric on a single shed loom having warp-wise extending wires, which comprises introducing weft picks in a three-pick cycle, the first two picks in each cycle being interwoven with ground and pile warps to form a ground fabric and the thirdpick being laid over the said wires and under pairs of pile warp-ends, one pile warp-end of each pair passing under the first pick and over the second pick and the second pile warp-end of each pair passing over the'first pick and under the second pick.

7. A method of weaving a loop pilefabric on a single shed loom having warp-wise extending wires, which comprises introducing weft picks in a three-pick cycle, the first two picks in each cycle being interwoven with ground and pile warps to form a ground fabric and the third pick being laid over the said wires and under pairs of groups of pile warp-ends, one group of pile warp-ends of each pair of groups of pile warpends passing under the first pick and over the second pick, and the second group of pile warpends of each pair of groups passing over the first pick and under the second pick.

BERNARD K. SYMONDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

